"We pretty much run our own show here," says Maurene Simonelli, the greenhouse manager, as she pops flowering plants out of their containers, flattens out the roots with the palm of her hand and replants them in a log basket for placement on a grave site. "We are like a little community here. Everyone here really takes a lot of pride in what they do. Thankfully everybody really does get along. Everybody brings a little something different to the table that makes it interesting and yet we have a lot of things in common, as far as respect and passion for what we do."

[Paul planting pansies in the Asa Gray Garden near the cemetery's front entrance. Planting pansies in early spring is a seemingly unending task. They are the flowering plants most resistant to frost and thus most suitable to the unpredictable weather of a Boston spring.]

[Maurene works with volunteer Matt Strazzula to asess the insect problem. The greenhouse uses an integrated pest management system that includes catching bugs before they multiply and releasing beneficial insects to eat the harmful ones. Only after using these methods of control do they resort to pesticide use.]

[Mary Scalisi, Assistant Greenhouse Manager, planting pansies at a family lot.]

[Maurene laughing with Mark and Mary.]